If you know my dad, you know that he is sometimes known for taking the autocratic route which might have something to do with him working as a high school principal in Kenya for over 15 years. One of his closest friends always makes it a point to talk about my dad’s “there’s one thing we must agree” principle. Basically, it’s a principle he uses when he wants you to take his way or the highway but instead of saying of that, he says what he wants by opening the conversation with “there’s one thing we must agree” which literally means you have to agree with him. Fortunately, the “must agree” talk was not necessary for the following ten things that I learned from my dad. Throughout my experiences, I naturally arrived to the conclusion that he was right about the ten following ideas:
1. Always protect your heart. My dad strongly believes that love is a choice so you can only blame yourself if you fall for the guy that is clearly not for you.
2. Never date someone just because you’re lonely. Too often we get caught up by our primal instincts during “mating season” and get a bae for the sake of it. Do yourself a favor and don’t be that person.
3. If you’re with a person who tries to push you to do things you don’t want to do, they’re not the one for you.
4. Love is 90% respect; if you don’t have respect in your relationship, it’s doomed to fail.
5. The definition of love is “taking care”. This reminds me of Le Petit Prince where the pilot tells the prince that you have an obligation to take care of those you love. This can be as small as taking your wife’s car to the car wash to planning a holiday together.
6. You must also take care of yourself so that you sustain yourself. If you’re not in good health, you can’t take care of anyone. If that means treating yourself every once in a while, go ahead and treat yourself.
7. Good posture is a must. They way you walk communicates how confident you are to others.
8. It’s always important to have a hobby; all work and no play makes you a dull person.
9. Considering my dad used to stay up late to help me decorate my science fair posters, he instilled in me the principle of working smarter not harder.
10. Gossip is for the feeble minded. Smart people discuss ideas not what other people are doing.